Not long after director Tim Miller exited the Deadpool sequel over creative differences with Ryan Reynolds, reports revealed the reason behind the split: Miller, a VFX pro, wanted to make a more polished (and more expensive) sequel, while Reynolds (and screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) wanted to stick to the scrappy (and less expensive) style that made the first film such a hit. Now, with John Wick co-director David Leitch at the helm, Reynolds and producer Simon Kinberg have offered a quick update on Deadpool 2, including words of praise for Leitch and a promise to make sure the sequel is in keeping with its predecessor.

After naming Reynolds their Entertainer of the Year, EW spoke with the actor and Deadpool producer about the upcoming sequel, which is still in the development stage — though Reynolds confirms that they’re “about to move into production.” Reynolds says they’re still going through the casting process for Cable, and confirmed that they’re “looking at” mercenary mutant character Domino to join the lineup. He also had glowing things to say about David Leitch, noting that he “really understands those Deadpool sensibilities and where we need to take the franchise from here.” Those sensibilities include budget, style and tone.

Reynolds praised John Wick and Leitch’s ability to “make a movie on an ultra tight minimal budget look like it was shot for 10-15 times what it cost.” As for style and tone, producer Simon Kinberg says the “biggest mandate” for Deadpool 2 is to “resist the temptation to make it bigger in scale and scope”:

The goal for us when we sat down and started talking about it was it needs to be as provocative and startling as the first film which means it can’t just be a continuation of the first film. It has tonally and stylistically be as fresh and original. That’s a big challenge especially because they had 10 years to gestate on the first movie and we don’t have that kind of time on the second movie.

To make a proper sequel, you have to understand what makes the first film work on a very basic level. The way Kinberg perfectly describes it, Deadpool is the ugly duckling of superhero movies: “…It’s the tone and the style and the humor that make it so special — it’s not the explosions and the special effects.”

As of now, Fox has some placeholder release dates for untitled Marvel movies in 2018, one of which might be the X-Men film they’re shooting next spring (which is probably Josh Boone’s New Mutants), while another could very well be for Deadpool 2.